The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

I should mention the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and their current defense of a comic book dealer in Georgia. They've been standing with Gordon Lee for almost three years. Here's their shorthand version of the case:

For nearly three years the Fund has defended Georgia retailer Gordon Lee, seeing him through multiple arraignments and procedures, and racking up $80,000 in legal bills. The charges stem from a Halloween 2004 incident in which Lee handed out, among other free comics, an anthology featuring an excerpt from the critically acclaimed graphic novel The Salon. The segment depicted a historically accurate meeting between 20th Century art icons Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, the latter depicted in the nude. It was a harmless sequence, no more explicit than the nudity displayed in the award winning Watchmen. Yet because the title found its way into the hands of a minor, Floyd County prosecutors hit Lee with two felony counts and five misdemeanors. The Fund eventually knocked out most of the charges, but must now defeat the two remaining misdemeanor counts of Distribution of Harmful to Minors Material, each carrying a penalty of up to one year in prison and up to $1,000 in fines.

They're due to go fight the remaining charges in court, with the current court date scheduled for August 13, and they're looking to raise more funds to cover their expenses. I need to check the current status of my membership, which I'm pretty sure is due to be renewed at the very least. Take a look around their Web site and see if you can give them your support. The CBLDF is a good organization, and First Amendment issues are always worth fighting for.